Live Review: EMI ARIA Week Showcase: Alison Wonderland, Sosume DJs, Leah Mencel

Last night EMI showcased some quality homegrown dance music – a mix of feelgood party mixes and innovative material.

Warming up the room was Leah Mancel, who has a lot in common with the headliner, Alison Wonderland (and nope, no “female DJs” tangent here, because talent doesn't gender-discriminate, y'know?). Both are disciples of smooth hip hop and a no-nonsense attitude; Mencel – who has a sleeve of tatts that suggests you don't want to mess with her – is a master of turning loops into addictive hooks. From Lumidee's I'll Never Leave You to Iggy Azalea and T.I.'s Murda Bizness, from Big Sean to B.O.B., she mixes with military precision and it's impossible not to move – just ask Alison Wonderland, who was losing her shit in the corner while the rest of the room was slow to catch on.

Sosume DJs were suited up and looking slick, dropping a diverse mix of party favourites in between big grins and fist pumps. Think everything from Blondie's Heart of Glass to Kanye's Bound 2 to plentiful amounts of Disclosure (can you ever have too much?). They pride themselves on being “genre free” and they have plenty of fun on the job.

But the night was all about Alison Wonderland, who was nervously excited to be showcasing some of the original music she's been working on this year to great anticipation from her fans. “This is fucking…really nice,” she began her introduction to the crowd, who by now were swarming in front of the stage. After refreshingly thanking her label for allowing her “creative freedom”, she added, “Also – my dad's here.”

So began a short trip down the rabbit hole with a taste of five songs that revealed her abilities stretch way beyond mixing other people's music. She can sing and play the cello, as on the dreamy So Close To Being So Far. She's also enlisted a solid roll call of collaborators. American vocalist Johnny Nelson soulfully begs, “Please don't waste my time,” on a track that might be called Already Gone. Owl Eyes was perhaps the most anticipated on the list, with her smooth, dreamy voice perfectly melding into Wonderland's bouncing, bass-heavy beats. The mini-set finished with the familiar single Get Ready, Fishing packing a punch with their energetic rapping on stage as Wonderland interjects “You just weren't ready for me”.

Oh, but the crowd was ready, and hungry for more as she kicked on with a DJ set full of favourites from Snoop to Biggie, Flume to Fatboy Slim. Thirsty might be a better word after one fan tried to borrow the Smirnoff she was swigging. Alison Wonderland knows how to blow up a party and her dad ought to be proud.